Fencepost



' 1,634 739 July 5, 1-927. c- COLVIN FENGEPOST Filed Dec. 24. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOA. CHASE C01 Vl/Vf Patented July 5. i927.

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CHASE GGLVIN', 0E SOUTH: @HARLESTQN, @HIO.

FENCEPOST.

Application filed December 24, 1923. Serial No. 632,478.

This invention relates to fence posts and more particularly to a line post adapted to be driven into the ground.

One object of the invention is to provide a fence post having means whereby the fence wires. and the face plate may be firmly secured thereto and held against vertical displacement.

A further object of the invention is to provide in connection with such a post, face plates with means for quickly and easily attaching the same to the post and for firmly securing the same thereto.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a post and face plate which will be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, of a'. strong durable character and which can be easily driven into the ground.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the device is described in detail.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a tront elevationof a once postembodying my invention, and partly broken away; Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the upper portion thereof, showing one of the wire fastening devices; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the post; Fig. i is a section taken on the line 4- of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of a portion of the post and face plate; Fig. 6 is a "front elevation of a slightly modified form of post and face late, with the post partly broken away; Fig. Y is a front elevation of a portion of the fence post of Fig. 1, showing a modified form of face plate; Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 88 of Fig. 7 Fig. 9 is a sectionalview taken on the line 9-4) of Fig. 10; Fig. 1.0 is a rear elevation of the post and face plate shown in Fig. 7; Fig. 11 is a front elevation of a' portion of the post provided with another form of face plate; and Fig. 12 is a front elevation of a portion of the post with a further modified form of face plate.

in these drawings I have illustrated certain embodiments of my invention but it will be understood that these several embodiments have been chosen for the urposes oi? illustration only and that both t e post and the face plates may take various forms without, departing from the spirit of the invention.

in each of the embodiments here shown I have employed a T-shaped fence post the face or body portion 1 of which is fiat and is arranged in a plane parallel with the fence wires, with a vertical rib 2 extending rearwardly therefrom; In that form of the post shown in Figs. 1 to 12 inclusive, the body portion or face 1 of the post has each of its lateral edges provided with projections or lugs 3 which extend therefrom in the plane or the body portion of the post. The post is preferably an integral rolled T-section and the projection or lugs may be formed on the edges thereof when the post is rolled. The lugs or projections may be of any suitable character and arrangement. As shown in Fig. 1 the lugs have their upper and lower edges substantially parallel and the corresponding lu s on opposite sides of the post are arrangedin substantially the same horizontal plane. In Fig. 6 the lugs are shown at 4 as having their lower edges inclined or converging toward the horizontal upper edges thereof and the lugs on the two sides of the post are arranged in staggered relation. llhe fence wires 5 extend across the fiat front face of the body portion of the post and are secured thereto by fastening devices 6, which preferably consist of short pieces of wire extending across the fence wire and across the face of the post and having their ends bent about the edges of the post, as shown at 7 in Figs. 2 and 3. Preferably these fastening devices are formed with one end bent to hook shape and in applying the same to post, this hooked end is engaged about one edge or the body of the post; the fastening device is then carried across the post and across the fence wire and the other end is bent about the other edge of the post, any suitable implement being used for this purpose. in this manner the wire is fastened securely to the face of the post and inasmuch as the vertical movement of the fastening device is limited by the lugs onthe edges of the post it will be obvious that the fence wires can have no appreciable vertical movement with relation to the post. The lugs may be spaced any suitable distance apart but I prefer that they should'be spaced about an inch or an inch and a halt. in applying the fastening device it may, when the fence wire is adjacent to a pair of lugs, be secured to the post at one and above the lug on one side of the post and secured to the post at the other end below the corresponding lu In this manner the fastening device is rigidly held against all vertical movement. If the fence till the

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wire intersects the post between the lugs the fastening device may be applied at the point of intersection of the fence wire but inasmuch as it will be spaced but a short distance from the lugs it will be apparent that it can slip up or down only until it comes into contact with the adjacent lugs. The arrangement of the fastening device is such as not only to firmly secure the wires to the post but will also permit the wires to extend at any desired angle with relation to the post as, for example, when the fence extends down a hillside and the wires are consequently arranged at an acute angle to the post.

It is preferable that a post of this type should be provided with a face plate to hold the same against movement transversely to the fence wires. In order that the face plate may have the greatest bracing action it should be located such a distance from the lower end of the post that when the post has been driven into the ground the plate will lie just beneath the surface of the ground. Various means have been proposed for securing these plates to the post but many of them are unsatisfactory for one reason or another, the principal objections being that the connection either lacks the necessar strength to withstand the strain impose thereon when the post is driven into the ground or the fastening devices are of such a character as to interfere with the driving of the post. In connection with the post of the type above described I have provided a face plate 8 of such a character that it can be very firmly secured to the post and in which the fastening devices are of such a character as to not interfere with the driving of the. post. To this end the plate is provided with integral arts which extend rearwardly from the rear ace of the plate and may be pressed toward the rear face of the body portion of the post to secure the plate thereto. The post is provided with a part or parts which engage the face plate to hold the same against upward movement with relation to the post, and in that form of the post shown in Figs. 1 to 12 inclusive the laterally extending projections or lugs engage the upper edges of the parts of the plate which extend across the edges of the post. The face plates may be providedwith these fastening parts or lugs in any suitable manner. ln that form of the plate shown in ldigs. l to 4 l have struck from that portion of the plate 8 which engages the front face of the body portion of the post a plurality of lips 9 which, in the present instance are substantially V-shaped and are connected with the face plate at points adjacent to the respective edges of the post. When these lips or projections are struclr from the face plate they extend rearwardly and are spaced apart a distance just eutlcient to permit to mesa-vac embrace the body portion of the post. lfhen the face plate is applied to the post these lips or projections extend between adjacent lateral lugs on the respective edges of the post and when bent over and pressed against the rear face of the post serve to very rigidly secure the face plate to the post. The lips or projections struck from the face plate may be of such width at their wider ends as to fit snugly between adjacent projections on the post but this is not essential as in the driving of the post the face plate will be forced upwardly until the lips engage the corresponding projections and as the projections are spaced but short distances apart this amount of movement of the face plate would not be seriously objectionable.

In Fig. 6 the face plate 10 is of a similar character to the face plate shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 5, butinasmuch as the projections on the post of Fig. 6 are staggered the lips or projections struck from the face plate 10 are also staggered, the openings in the face plate from which the lips have been struck being shown at 11.

In'Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10, the face plate is similar in character to that above described.

but instead of having the fastening devices struck rom the body of the plate these'are formed integral with the rear face thereof, preferably by rolling the same into the strip of metal from which the face plate is cut. As shown in these figures the face plate 12 has ribs 13 spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the width of those portions of the body of the post lying between the projections. If the projections 3 at the edges of the post are spaced apart a suficient distance the ribs may be continuous through out their length but where the projections on the post are comparatively close together I prefer to divide the rib into parts, as shown at 14 in Figs. 9 and 10. This may be accomplished either during the rolling operation or by cutting away the ribs subsequent to the rolling operation. lhese lugs 14 extend between the projections 3 on the edges of the post and may be pressed inwardly to engage the body of the post in such a manner as to firmly secure the plate thereto. It is also desirable that the post be provided with an anchor of some sort which will resist any tendency on the part of the same to move upwardly after it has been set. A face plate of the type described can readily be provided with such an anchor by striking from the body thereof a lip or proje'ction, such as is shown at 15 in Figs. 7 and 8, this projection being bent forwardly so as to project beyond the plane of the face plate. It will be noted that the metal from which this anchor is formed is struck from that portion of the plate which overlaps the body portion of the post so that is formed of which otherwise would serve no useful assa/as purpose as it'is net necessary to the strength of the plate and the forming of the anchor by lips or projections struck from the body .hereof, as shown at 20. It will be noted that in this instance the V-shaped projections are struck from those portions of the plate lying beyond the lateral edges of the post, the openings from which the projections have been struck being shown at 21. However, when struck from the face plate they extend rearwardly in the same manner as theprojections of the face plate, of Fig. 1 and may be bent about the edges of the post in the same manner.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that I have provided a fence postof such a character that both fence wires and the face plate may be quickly and easilysecured thereto and when secured thereto will be held firmly against vertical displacement. Further, it will be apparent that I have provided a face plate of such a character that it can be attached to thepost without the use of projecting parts which would interfere with the driving of the post. In that form shown in Figs. 1 to 12 the front of the post is mooth and when a new post is being driven alongside of an old wire fence there is nothing on the post which will engage the fence wires and interfere with the driving of the post in that manner. Both the post and the face plate are of such a character that they may be formed at a very small cost and the finished-post, that is, with the face plate attached, may be easily driven into the ground and is of a very strong durable character. It will be notedthat the post and the face plate, more particularly the face plate shown in Figs. 7 to 10, may be formed complete in the rolling operation, that is, the projections on the post will be rolled into the same when the T-shaped section is rolled and the ribs will be rolled onto i the sheets from which the face plate is out and divide it into sections during the rolling operation. Consequently to construct a completcd post it is only necessary to cut the T-section to proper length and to cut the face plates the proper size and attach them tions may appear to a person skilled in the art.

Having now fully described my invention, what 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The combination with a fence post comprising a body portion. having a flat face, of a face plate engaging the flat face of said body portion and having parts extending across the respective edges of said post and pressed into engagement with the rear face thereof, said body portion having a lateral projection substantially in the plane of said face to limit the vertical movement of said face plate relatively thereto.

2. The combination with a fence post comprising a, body portion having a flat face, of a faceplate engaging the flat face of said body portion and having parts struck therefrom, extending rearwardly across the respective lateral edges of said body portion and pressed into engagement with the rear face of said body portion, said body portion having lateral projections substantially in the plane of said face to engage the respective rearwardly extending parts of said plate and to limit the upward movement thereof with relation to said post.

3. The combination with a fence post comprising a body portion having a flat face and having projections extending laterally from the respective edges thereof substantially in the plane of said face, of a face plate engaging one face of said body portion and having adjacent to each edge of said body portion a plurality of integral lugs, each extending across the adjacent edge of said body portion between adjacent projections on said post, said lugs being pressed into engagement with the body portion of said post to retain said face plate thereon.

4. The combination with a fence post comprising a body portion having a flat face and having projections extending laterally from the respective edges thereof substantially in the plane of said face, of a'face plate engaging the fiat face of said body portion and having a pair of lugs extending vertically of the rear face thereof and spaced apart a distance sufficient to receive the body portion of said post between them and pressed into engagement with said body portion to secure said face plate to said post, the vertical movement of said face plate being limited by the lateral projections on said post.

5. lhe combination with a fence post comprising a body portion having a flat face, of a face plate engaging the flat face of said body portion, and having parts extending rearwardly across the respective edges of said postand pressed into engagement with said body portion to retain said plate thereon, said. face plate having a part struck from 6. The combination with atence post comprising a body portion having a flat face and having projections extending laterally from the respective edges thereof substantially in the plane of said face, of a face plate engaging the fiat face of said body portion and having lugs struck therefrom, extending rearwardly across the respective edges of said post between the projections thereof and bent into engagement with said post, said face plate also having another part struck there-from between said lugs and bent forwardly to form an anchor.

7. A fence post comprising a body portion having a flat face and having a series of magma relatively short flat projections extending laterally from each edge thereof substantially in the plane of said face, the projections of each series being spaced apart distances greater than the width of any one of said projections.

8. A T-shaped fence post comprising a body portion having a flat face and having a series of relatively short flat rojections extending laterally from each e ge thereof substantially in the plane of said face and spaced apart a distance greater than the Width of one of said projections,- the corresponding projections at the respective edges of said post being arranged substantially in horizontal alinement.

In testimony whereof, I atlix my signature hereto.

CHASE COLVIN. 

